PHS will accomplish this goal by creating a temporary farm across from City Hall next year and engage the public in a dialogue designed to galvanize action to increase access to healthy food for all Philadelphians.

Titled “Farm for the City: Growing for Greater Good,” the urban agriculture project will be created on 2,000 square feet on the Thomas Paine Plaza of the Municipal Services Building, 1400 Arch Street in Philadelphia.

The demonstration farm will open in summer 2018 and continue into the fall as a site for dynamic public forums, gardening workshops and performances.

The programming will bring people together in a civic discussion about social equity and food security, encourage policies that promote healthy communities, and highlight ways urban agriculture strengthens neighborhoods.

“We are extremely grateful to The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage for supporting the creation of this extraordinary project,” PHS President Matt Rader said. “We hope it will bring together Philadelphians from diverse backgrounds and points of view to work toward food security for everyone. We also believe it will demonstrate the power of horticulture to transform communities and lives.”

The farm will produce an estimated 1,000 pounds of fruit and vegetables to be donated to Broad Street Ministry, which is dedicated to serving the homeless.

Young apprentices will assist in the food production on the farm and will engage visitors in dialogue about urban gardening and social issues related to food security.

Broad Street Ministry also will host two community dinners for 150 people, featuring food grown at the farm, to facilitate conversation about food access and community revitalization.

Participants in the dinners will be a cross-section of city residents, city officials, young people, homeless individuals, people transitioning from prison, and immigrants.

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About Me

This Blog is a companion to www.PaEnvironmentDigest.com, the weekly online newsletter published by Crisci Associates, Harrisburg, PA.
I can be contacted at 717-576-0420 or by sending email to: DHess@CrisciAssociates.com.
I served as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from 2001 to 2003, Executive Deputy at DEP from 1995 to 2001, as staff to the PA Senate Environmental Committee and various positions in the former Department of Environmental Resources, working on environmental issues for over 40 years.